The main networks of the social and solidarity economy organize a meeting to make visible the so-called "cooperative way" to guarantee the right to housing

The event is intended for user groups as well as technicians and public administrations, with the idea of ​​consolidating a model that has grown exponentially in recent years

The Forum will discuss themes such as collaboration to improve housing accessibility, the creation of communities of mutual help and care, energy efficiency and sustainability

El Forum for cooperative housing in right of use will take place from November 25 to 27 in Barcelona at the Ciutadella Campus of Pompeu Fabra University. With the motto "The cooperative way for the right to housing", it will be a space to learn about experiences, show good practices, address financing, regulatory and land access challenges of the projects, hold workshops, talks, debates and strengthen sector networks. The meeting, aimed at projects, technical entities and public administrations, is organized by the cooperative housing sector of the XES (Network of Solidarity Economy of Catalonia) and the Housing Group de AREAS Network of Alternative and Solidarity Economy Networks, with support from Barcelona City Council and the Generalitat de Catalunya.

This event, which will have a preliminary debate on Thursday the 24th, is proposed as a reference to improve housing accessibility for different social sectors, both young people and the elderly and intergenerational or specific groups. Both for initiatives to develop in urban or peri-urban environments, and to rehabilitate in rural areas. In addition, it proposes the recovery of life in community, with the incorporation of collective property and the cooperative management of the habitat with a democratic and participative vision, favoring the improvement of health, mutual support, care and support for situations of vulnerability and dependency.

In short, a new model of housing based on self-management and maintaining housing as a right of use outside of market dynamics and real estate speculation. All this is already a reality with a prominent implementation in Catalonia and especially in the city of Barcelona, ​​thanks to the articulation of an important social sector, technical entities of the Solidarity Economy, and the collaboration of public administrations. The appointment will be attended by people from cooperative housing groups and projects throughout Catalonia and the Iberian Peninsula, as well as technical support teams in various areas, as well as people with a technical and political profile from public administrations in their various areas.

The most experiential experience will be the possibility to visit projects in coexistence as in the case of the brand new Cirerers in Barcelona, ​​or the Vidalia in Puig-reig, Ca la Fou in Vallbona d'Anoia, Houses are needed in Santa Maria d'Oló. It will be a sample of the reality formed by a wide diversity of projects, which respond to an emerging social need to recover housing as a space that allows building a life in the spirit of cooperation, mutual help and solidarity, in a majority dynamic focused on competitiveness, isolation and the individualization of life. 

An alternative to transform the housing access model

Cooperative housing in right of use is a formula with the best of ownership and rent: the transfer or right of use, which provides stability to the inhabitants and facilitates greater accessibility and mobility without financial burdens. Among others, this is achieved because property ownership is collective and non-profit, and remains so indefinitely after construction or rehabilitation. All this it prevents speculation and contributes to creating a more affordable housing stock in the long term. It is based on the contribution of an initial capital by the partners of around 20% of the promotion, refundable in case of exit, and a monthly fee comparable to rent, but well below market prices.

This residential model has extensive international development. In the Catalan case, the references are the models that emerged in the seventies, with the idea of ​​community life in Denmark, and later evolved into a cooperative model of right of use called Andel, and the Uruguayan model, which from the 60s is a benchmark with its different modalities that require more or less prior savings capacity in the initial contribution. The model is an effective solution for access to housing with examples like the 1.300 Housing cooperatives which host 60.000 people in Quebec, the Construction and housing cooperatives with 8% of properties in Switzerland, the 30.000 cooperatives which represent 2,58% of the homes in Uruguay, the 160.000 homes of Public Utility Cooperatives with the IIBW in Austria.